Syed Sameer was identified as the administrator behind the BigWhale crypto scheme on October 6, 2023. The Texas State Securities Board publicly named Sameer, bringing a face to the anonymous operation. BigWhale’s website provides no information about its ownership or executives. Its domain, bigwhale.io, was registered privately on January 30, 2023, concealing the identity of its operators.
Marianna Vilchez appears in BigWhale marketing videos, identifying herself as part of the scheme's Media Relations department. Vilchez also holds a position as an Executive Assistant at Quizam Media Corp, a Canadian company. She joined Quizam in early 2020 and handles administrative and human resources tasks for On-Track Corporate Training and Quantum Cannabis, divisions of the parent company. It remains unconfirmed if other Quizam Media Corp employees are involved with BigWhale.
BigWhale claims to operate through BigWhale Fintech AG, a Swiss entity registered by individuals who remain unidentified. The company offers no retailable products or services. Affiliates can only promote BigWhale membership itself.
The compensation plan requires affiliates to invest Binance Coin (BNB). Investors receive promised daily passive returns based on the amount invested. A 0.1 to 1 BNB investment yields 0.8% daily, while 80 BNB or more offers a 2% daily return. The company also offers referral commissions on these daily returns, paid down three recruitment levels. Level 1 referrals earn 10%, level 2 earn 5%, and level 3 earn 2%.
Membership in BigWhale is free. However, a minimum investment of 0.1 BNB is required to participate in the income opportunity.
BigWhale states it generates revenue by illegally providing banking services to high-risk clients. These clients, operating in industries such as crypto and legal CBD oil production, are allegedly unable to secure loans from traditional banks. BigWhale claims these borrowers take loans from its protocol at daily interest rates between 2.2% and 5%. This alleged income stream is how BigWhale claims to pay investors their daily returns. No evidence has been presented to support these claims about illegal banking services, nor has the company named any of its clients. The connection between Vilchez's role at Quizam Media Corp, which includes a Quantum 1 Cannabis CBD division, and BigWhale’s claimed operations remains unclear.